Splint stretcher board



Dec. 20, 1938. i

C. A. WARDEN SPLINT STRETCHER BOARD Filed June 1, 1936 Patented Dec. 20,1938

UNITED, STATES SPLINT STRETOHEB; BOARD Charles A. Warden, Kimball, W. Va., assignor to Portable Lamp & Equipment Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June-'1, 1936, Serial No. 82,997

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a splint stretcher board and is particularly intended for the safe carrying of injured persons.

Various types of stretchers have heretofore 5 been proposed, but such are not adapted for particular employments such as that of removing an injured miner from the confined spaces of a mine, and under conditions where he must be supported against relative displacement of injured parts, until he has been brought to a hospital where ample and proper care can be given to his injuries. In particular, these prior devices are not adapted for the handling of a person who is suffering from a spinal injury, as on the one hand they do not provide for receiving dislocated and displaced portions of the back, nor are they free from relative movements of their structures. Further, in removing a miner from the mine, it is usually necessary'to transport him on a mine car, and usually on the top of a car immediately adjacent to the trolley wires used for supplying power to the electric locomotives: and hence there is danger in such transportation that a falling wire or sagging wire may strike the miner and establish a short circuit so that he may be seriously shocked or killed. u

A'further defect of the normal stretcher, having supporting bars and a canvas or like trough for receiving the patient, is that such devices are soon affected by the moisture and other conditions prevalent in mines and similar places, so that they become useless within a few months, .and are not available when needed.

An improved structure of this type is shown in the accompanying drawing by way of example, as comprising a stiff rigid structure having portions for permitting the disposal thereon of a patient having a back injury, and with struc- 40 tures for permitting the patient to be secured firmly on the board so that he may be moved and shifted as necessary to remove him from the place at which found, with the least possible relative displacement of any part 'of his body even though it is necessary to handle this board on end or side in order to move the patient.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a top plan view of the stretcher board.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the same.

Fig. 3 is an end view.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In the drawing, the stretcher board is shown 1 to comprise a platform l having a slot H extending longitudinally along its center. This slot of the platform are integral with the side por- 5;

tions and provide support for the head and feet of the patient. Strengthening battens l2, I3, I 4 extend across the bottom of the platform and are fixedly secured thereto. This securing is preferably accomplished by screws I 5 which have their heads recessed and sealed by Wooden plugs is so that these screws are insulated.

The end battens l2 and I4 are provided with supporting legs which comprise the metal insulator supports I! having the screws l8 engaged in the corresponding batten. These supports ll extend away from the lower surface of the corresponding batten and receive the insulator members I9 which may be of glass, porcelain, synthetic resin or other appropriate material. The platform IU of the stretcher board has a. number of longitudinally extending slots, which usually are positioned in pairs, with one slot of each pair at right and left of the central slot II. The slots are located close to the central 25 slot H and opposite the position of the patients neck and upper shoulders. The slots 26 are located along the length of his body. The slots 21 are located opposite the patients legs, while the slots 28 are located at the lower leg or ankle 30 position of a patient of normal height. It will be noted that these slots may be relatively narrow. They are employed for receiving bandages which are passed around the body or limb of a patient and through the slots, being tied together for holding. the patient tightly to the stretcher board. For the upper body of an adult of normal size, the bandages are passed around the body and through the holes 26, while for the legs, the bandages are passed through one of the slots 21, 28 and through the central slot II.

In addition to these slots, hand-holes are also provided adjacent the edges of the stretcher board. These also are illustrated as being provided in pairs 29 near the head and foot and along the mid-length of the stretcher board. These hand-holes are valuable for carrying or sliding the stretcher from a confined location, as they make it possible to carry the board, with the patient thereon in any position, without seizing hold of the patient himself. Further, in coal mines, first-aid traininghas been given to many of the employees; and the present stretcher board is excellently adapted for use by team lift in which there is a man at each end, carry- 5 ing the stretcher by the handles 3|, and two other men take stations at the sides of the stretcher, grasping the hand holes 29 at the mid-length. This gives a convenient and comfortable portage of the board with the patient thereon, as the carriers normally break step to avoid swinging motions, and are able to support and guide the board while moving it rapidly toward the place at which the patient can be properly attended to by a surgeon.

At the ends, the board is provided with the pivot members 30 which receive the handles 3|. These handles may therefore be swung about the pivots 30 to positions beneath the stretcher board during the storage of the structure, and while it is being used for moving the patient from a confined space. The pivots may be of a bolt type, with the heads protected by insulating plugs l6 as described for the screws [5.

The stretcher board has its platform and battens preferably of wood, coated with a moistureresisting composition such as varnish. It is generally stored in a mine by suspending it in slings from supports on a wall or rib; and requires no protective metal canister such as is employed with a canvas-bottom stretcher.

In service, when an accident occurs, the stretcher board is moved close to the patient, and owing to its low height, he may be transferred thereto simply and easily by lifting his body. He is then secured to the stretcher by the usual triangular bandages being passed around portions of his body and through the various slots. Thus, he is secured fixedly to the stretcher and the latter may be slid or carried in various positions without danger of relative displacement of wounded or broken parts. The

normal position of the patient, with his back down, upon the stretcher board, brings the spinal column above the slot ll. Since this is the normal positioning, and since the slot ll receives any protruding dislocated portions of the spinal column, pressures are not created which increase the extent of a spinal injury. Similarly, the board provides a firm support for broken limbs, operating in the manner of a splint for these parts, while the patient is being withdrawn from the place at which his injury occurred.

The construction and arrangement of the board with the hand-holes 25, 21 and 28 at different distances from the longitudinal axis of the stretcher board permits the carrying of patients of different sizes with entire security in each case. A man six feet tall, for example, is substantially of the length of the board, and the bandage holes can be used as described above.

With a child six years old, the body may be secured by bandages passed through the right-hand holes 21 (Fig. 1) while the lower legs and ankles are secured by bandages passed through the central slot and the holes 28 and 29 at the left-hand end (Fig. 1) and if desired, the thighs can be secured by bandages passed through the left-hand holes 27 and through the central slot I I.

It will be noted that this arrangement makes it possible for even an inexperienced person to perform the obvious operations of covering an exposed Wound, moving the patient to the stretcher and securing him thereon, without an extensive course of training.

By making the platform of wood or similar material, and using definitely located screws l5, etc., for securing the parts together, it is normally possible to remove the patient without injury to him, to bear the stretcher to a mine car and position it thereon, and then to move the car out of the mine without danger to the patient if the trolley wire has a considerable sag at any point, as the board itself is an insulator, the securing members are insulated, and further insulating members H) are provided as feet.

When the patient has been removed from the mine or other place, he may be transported from the mine head to the hospital and there placed on an X-ray table for examination, without removing any portion from the stretcher board, or even loosening the bandages which have been applied. Thus, the least possible movement is necessary of any part of the patients body, until a thorough examination by X-ray has been given to determine the nature of any bone injuries which may have occurred.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited solely to the form of construction shown, but that it may be modified in many ways within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A splint stretcher comprising a substantially rigid platform having a longitudinal slot for receiving the spine of a patient positioned with his back on said platform, said platform also having a plurality of shorter longitudinal slots spaced along its longitudinal edges and through which in combination with the first mentioned slot bandages may be passed for securing the patient upon the platform, transverse battens on the under surface of the platform located one adjacent each end of the first mentioned slot, fasten-ings securing the battens to the platform, insulation covering the fastenings, and dependents of insulation carried by the battens.

CHARLES A. WARDEN. 

